Martensdale, California facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Martensdale
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 Martensdale
Location in California
Martensdale
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| County | Kern County |
| Founded | 1909 |
| Abandoned | 1910 |
Martensdale was a small town in Kern County, California. It was started by Mennonites who moved from the Great Plains in 1909. The town was located about 6 mi (10 km) east of Shafter, near a place called Lerdo.
A man named Henry J. Martens told many Mennonite families that he owned a lot of land in California. He convinced them to travel there to start a new life. In June 1909, they settled and formed the town of Martensdale. Soon, the town had shops, a post office, and homes.
However, by December 1909, people found out that Martens did not actually own most of the land. He also had not paid for the land he did own. Because of this, the people of Martensdale had to leave their new homes. They used wagons and log rollers to move their houses to new places. Many of them settled in Rosedale. Henry J. Martens was wanted by the authorities and lived as a fugitive until he died in 1941.
Contents
The Dream of a New Town
In 1909, Henry J. Martens traveled across the Great Plains in the United States. He told people he owned over 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) of land in California. At the time, there was a drought in the Great Plains. This made many Mennonites eager to move to a new place. Martens convinced them to travel to California by train.
In truth, Martens only had plans to buy 5,120 acres (2,070 ha) of land. He traded this land for old farms in the Great Plains. Starting in June 1909, Martens showed land near Lerdo in Kern County, California, to the Mennonites.
Naming Martensdale
The first big group of settlers decided to make this their new home. A local minister asked them not to allow saloons in their new city. The colonists agreed and decided to name the town Martensdale. They chose this name to honor Henry J. Martens.
The group also wanted to build a college in their town. They set aside 100 acres (40 ha) of land for it and $16,000. Martens showed them plans for the college. More settlers arrived in October 1909.
Life in Martensdale
The new settlement was located near where the Lerdo Highway and California Highway 99 are today. The town quickly grew and gained many useful services.
In November 1909, a newspaper reported that a large well had been dug. The town also had a grocer, a furniture store, and a shoe seller. A post office, a barber shop, and a hardware store were also planned.
A Diverse Community
Martensdale attracted people who were not Mennonites too. For example, 25 German Methodists from Gotebo, Oklahoma, moved there in December. Reports said that Martens had given money for schools for different groups. These groups included Baptists, Mennonites, Adventists, and Lutherans. However, there is no proof that these donations or large settlements by Baptists and Lutherans actually happened. In total, over 100 families settled in Martensdale.
The Town's Sudden End
It turned out that Henry J. Martens did not actually own the land. The real owner was John McWilliams Jr. Martens was able to buy a small part of the land in October. But most of the land where the settlers lived still belonged to McWilliams.
Martens did not make the payments he was supposed to. By December, the settlers learned they could not stay on the land. Some had already built their homes.
Moving Their Homes
The settlers had to move the houses they had built. They used wagons to transport their homes. Some families even used log rollers to move their houses in March.
By April 1910, the post office in Martensdale was closing. Many of the people who had lived in Martensdale stayed in Kern County. A lot of them moved to Rosedale. By late summer, there were very few signs left of the town.
Images for kids
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Poster offering a reward for the capture of Henry J. Martens
